ACROSS UNKNOWN SOUTH AMERICA 
thrown out of the houses, which possess no sanitary ar¬ 
rangements of any kind. Much of the pleasure of look¬ 
ing at the magnificent Inca walls — constructed of great 
blocks of stone so well fitted that no cement was neces¬ 
sary to hold them together — was really lost through 
being absolutely stifled by the suffocating odour which 
was everywhere prevalent in Cuzco. 
The photographs that are reproduced in the illustra¬ 
tions of this book will give an idea of the grandeur of 
the Inca works better than any description. As I in¬ 
tend to produce at a later date a special work on that 
country, I am unable here to go fully into the history of 
the marvellous civilization of that race. 
A photograph will be seen in one of the illustrations 
showing the immensity of the three-walled fortress of 
Sacsayhuaman. Another photograph will show with what 
accuracy the Incas could carve stone, which, mind you, 
in those days must have been much softer than it is now, 
and not unlike the sandstone that is used in England for 
building purposes. 
Many curious subterranean passages were to be found 
on the mountains near Cuzco, the entrances to which were 
among picturesque rocks. The Incas seemed to have a 
regular mania for carving steps and angular channels in 
rocks. Not far from the fortress could be found the 
place of recreation of the Incas — the Rodadeiro — over 
which the Incas tobogganed, perhaps sitting on hides. 
Thousands and thousands of people must have gone in 
for the sport, as the solid rock was deeply grooved by 
the friction of the persons who have slid on it. 
The remains of ancient altars for the worship of the 
sun and an Inca throne, where the king of the Incas 
must have sat while battles were taking place, were in¬ 
deed most interesting to examine. 
More interesting than any other to me was the par¬ 
ticular spot on the mountain side where a kind of throne 
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